Beyond all Expectations
by lucelafonde
Summary: Isaka has finally been made president, but Asahina doesn't seem to particularly care. Cue annoyed Isaka and awkward-in-expressing-himself Asahina.


"Sir, the car is ready," Asahina said from the entranceway, certain that his voice could be heard throughout the small flat, but there was no reaction, so he frowned, almost dreading to see what had happened, but then again, it was nothing unusual.

"Could you PLEASE, just for once, NOT do that," he groaned, leaning forward to splash water into Isaka's sleeping face.

He jerked awake, getting water over his secretary in the process.

"Jeez, I almost had a heart attack," Isaka huffed, sternly looking at the other. "You could stand to be more gentle every once in a while, you know."

"Perhaps if you refrained from falling asleep in my bathtub—"

"I get it, I get it, stop nagging," Isaka yawned and stretched with a grimace, "help me up."

He was still annoyed, and it showed clearly on his face, but he heaved the newly appointed president out of the bathtub and threw a towel at him.

"The car is waiting for you downstairs."

He made to leave, but a strong hand on his wrist prevented him from escaping, and when he turned around with a deep sigh, Isaka was staring at him expectantly.

"Dry me."

He had seen it coming, of course, and he made sure his annoyance was clearly visible when he said: "Someone has to inform the driver of your tardiness."

"Fine," Isaka huffed, violently fastening the towel around his lower half, "go on then."

He was being childish again, and Asahina knew that there was little he could do once that man got into one of his moods, so he slightly bowed his head and left.

"Asshole," Isaka murmured under his breath, blow-drying his hair in a foul mood.

He was used to Asahina denying requests like that on occasion when he had reached the limit of his tolerance for childish behaviour for the month, but that wasn't what irked him anyway.

He hadn't even properly congratulated him on taking over his father's position yet.

Of course he'd said something like "Congratulations, now as for these papers—", but if that jerk thought that was enough, he had another thing coming.

He hadn't found the right moment to complain yet, but as soon as an opportunity arose, he wouldn't hesitate to take it. They had to attend the formal dinner to celebrate his promotion for the evening, but after that, Isaka was sure there were one or two things he could think of to discuss in great detail with his secretary.

"Damn him anyway."

He finished dressing up and made it downstairs where Asahina was making polite conversation with the driver, but he pointedly ignored his secretary and smiled at the other man instead, rubbing his head in an apologetic manner.

"So sorry," he said shyly, "my life seems to get busier every day."

"Of course, sir," the driver nodded in understanding, gesturing towards the car, "as the guest of honour, you could never be late."

"Ahahaha, I suppose that's true," he laughed, purposely slipping into the seat behind the driver without waiting for Asahina to open the door for him as usual.

_See if I need you, jerk._

He made himself comfortable in the back, closing his eyes when he heard the door on the other side open, and ignored Asahina's warm presence beside him. He was probably working out his schedule at the very moment because he barely seemed to be doing anything else these days, and even though it had been merely hours since he had officially succeeded his father, his life had apparently been taken up by meetings and dinners already.

"How dull." He sighed, yawning at the thought of spending the night with a couple of geezers he had to cater to because they were important for the future of the company.

"This is your job," Asahina said calmly from beside him, and Isaka frowned slightly at the comment.

He hadn't meant for him to overhear that.

Isaka made it a point not to counter anything and instead pretended to be asleep for the entire ride, barely forcing his eyes open when the driver announced their arrival. It wasn't like he had actually been in danger of falling asleep, not with Asahina so close next to him, and not while he was still seeping with anger, but facing reality after having been blissfully caught up in revenge-land was a bit harsh.

"Thank you. You can leave for the evening," Isaka instructed the driver, causing Asahina to blink in confusion.

"I thought—"

"I'm gonna take a cab. Might be a long night," he shrugged, already walking away while he finished the sentence.

He greeted the people inside with a cheerful smile and spent the entire evening listening to dull stories from his seniors while ignoring Asahina who was doubtlessly fostering connections and being generally way too good at his job. He had wondered this before, but didn't the other secretaries suffer from an inferiority complex when faced with Asahina? It wasn't unusual for Isaka to be asked whether his right hand might be willing to consider another position, and it also wasn't unusual for him to withstand the urge of punching someone in the face.

Self-control.

He probably learnt that from HIM of all people to begin with.

By the time he couldn't stand it anymore and most of them had almost passed out from drinking too much already, he stood up with a cheerful smile and excused himself for the evening under the pretence of an early morning the next day, but honestly, he really just wanted to get away and wash the stench of alcohol off him.

Perhaps he was getting old.

He spotted Asahina chatting with his old man at the end of the table and couldn't repress the hint of annoyance surfacing at the sight.

Dammit.

_I'm supposed to be the one ignoring YOU, not the other way around._

He was happy that the two of them got along so well now that he knew Asahina had never had a secret crush on his father because frankly, it made spending basically his entire time with each other a lot easier to explain when it came down to it, but this was supposed to be HIS night, and that asshole was actually ignoring him!

_Fine, see if I care._

He left the table with an annoyed grunt and left the restaurant without turning back, slowly walking in the general direction of his apartment.

He couldn't actually remember the last time he had been there because somewhere along the road he had more or less taken residence at Asahina's place, despite the other's vocal protests whenever he stayed over, and going back to his own empty loft now seemed a bit lonely.

_If that stubborn idiot would just agree to moving in together._

But he probably never would, at this rate. Isaka had brought it up once, who knows how many months or years back, but Asahina had always been very clear about certain boundaries, and that was one of them. What was he so afraid of anyway? They'd been going out for how long now? Ten years? Was he still waiting for something better to come along?

_Great, now I'm pissed._

He huffed, annoyed at himself for thinking so much about it more than anything, and stomped angrily down the road.

_Every single time._

"Ryuuichirou-sama!"

_Stop calling me that._

Wait.

"Asahina?" He stopped in his steps and turned around with some surprise. "What are you doing here?"

His secretary considered him with a blank look for a moment before he said: "As your secretary, I see no reason to stay when you yourself have left."

"Took you long enough to notice." He huffed, resuming his walk towards his apartment knowing Asahina would be following him whether he liked it or not.

"I noticed immediately, but someone had to settle the bill," Asahina frowned, no doubt put out that his secretarial skills had been criticised.

"Whatever."

They walked together in silence for a while before Asahina pointed out the obvious.

"You are angry."

"You don't say."

"Did something happen toni—"

"You really piss me off, you know that?" Isaka frowned, coming to a sudden halt to scowl at the other. "How can you even ask that? Who cares about the bunch of drunk geezers in there?" He resumed walking angrily with no particular destination in mind. "I'm mad at YOU, in case you haven't got the hint."

Asahina was silent for a moment, easily keeping up with him with infinitely less violent steps.

"Me?"

"GOSH, you really are slow whenever it's not about work," Isaka groaned, messing up his hair in exasperation. "Well, whatever, not like I didn't know that. I just thought that—"

Ugh.

"Forget it."

He turned suddenly, looking at Asahina sharply. "Just go home, I don't wanna see your face for a while."

"My… face?" Asahina looked dumbfounded, obviously not keeping up with the conversation, but Isaka could tell that he was hurt by the sudden coldness.

Good.

"Yeah, it's pissing me off right now." He scowled, feeling the annoyance rise exponentially with the exposure to that kicked-puppy look.

"I… apologise. I was not aware you took such issue with my appearance," Asahina said quietly, slightly bowing his head, probably to spare him from further damage.

"You don't get it, do you?" Isaka huffed, already hating himself for being so petty in the first place. He was sulking, sure, but he never actually meant to HURT him. No matter how overbearing and clueless Asahina could be sometimes, he was still the only thing that mattered to him on this planet, and seeing him dejected like this only made Isaka more angry at the person he actually was.

Shit.

_Why did it have to be such a gentle soul?_

"I'm mad when I see your face because all I want to do when I see it is kiss you, but at the same time I want to punch you because you never… Argh." He ruffled his hair, angrily glaring at Asahina to convey that it was all his fault. "You could stand to be a bit more expressive, basically."

Asahina was quiet for a while, still not looking up to meet his eyes, and Isaka wondered for a horrified moment whether he had actually made him cry this time, but experience told him it was far more likely to happen the other way around in any scenario, so he swiftly dismissed the idea.

"I… apologise. I had meant to give you this at home, but now seems a good time." He slowly reached for the inside of his coat, and a moment later he retrieved a small black box and held it out towards the other. "I… Congratulations on your promotion. You have worked very hard, and I know this has been a dream of yours for a long time now, so I will always strive to make it as easy on you as possible." He fidgeted, clearly uncomfortable with any statement beyond work, but he soldiered on. "Being president is very stressful, and there are some things you… I… It…" He sighed, pushing the box into Isaka's hands with a troubled expression. "I understand if you don't want it."

Isaka stared at him out of wide eyes, slightly confused at the random speech given to him just now, but he had always known that Asahina wasn't good with words when it came to expressing his emotions, so he suspected the gift would probably speak for itself.

He slowly opened the box with a sense of dread, slightly discouraged by the entirely work-related preliminary statement from before, and stared blankly at the content for a moment before he shut it only to open it again a second later, making sure his eyes weren't deceiving him.

"What the…?"

He squinted at the box and Asahina in turns, and eventually he sighed, scratching his head, at a complete loss how to react to Asahina's congratulatory package, speech and gift included.

That box did not match up with his words AT ALL.

"What the heck?" he said a bit louder this time, openly glaring at Asahina now. "This is NOT how you propose to someone."

Asahina was looking as stoic as ever, but he could have sworn that guy flinched for a second.

Talk about unromantic.

"Let's… let's just go home," Isaka sighed, grabbing Asahina's hand when he reached out to take the box back. "Who said you can have that? It's mine," he said simply, dragging his secretary along by their intertwined hands without saying another word.

When they stumbled into the flat, he quickly turned around and pressed Asahina against the door, tightly holding on to his suit in a manner that would surely wrinkle it.

"You were right, you should have done that at home," he murmured, eagerly pressing their lips together before Asahina could protest. He almost ripped the suit off him right there, but he restrained himself for the moment to reach for the black box in his pocket and hand it to Asahina.

"Do it properly this time."

"I—"

He glared at his secretary with all his might, communicating that he was already at his limit for the day.

"Yes, of course, Ryuuichirou-sama," he said quietly, opening the box with a gentle expression.

"You have to get on your knees or it doesn't count," Isaka said sternly, only half serious because he honestly didn't care at this point.

"As you wish."

_Shit, he actually did it._

"I— I have been waiting for this day for a very long time," Asahina began hesitantly, and Isaka could tell that he had never meant to share what would follow next with him, "You… You told me several years ago that your new goal was to reach the top and that you wouldn't stop before you did. Ever since that day I have had a goal of my own and that… I am aware that we won't be able to make it official, so it's probably—" He sighed. "I just wanted you to have this."

Isaka stared at him silently for a couple of moments, wondering just how uncomfortable the floor must be considering that neither of them was exactly young anymore, and eventually said with a huge sigh: "Guess I'll have to introduce you to my parents next then."

"Please don't joke about this."

"Mmm…" Isaka hummed, finally dropping down next to him. "I'm not joking." He grabbed for Asahina's tie and swiftly brought their mouths together, easily licking the tension in the other's body away in a matter of seconds. "I've actually been thinking about this too, you know." He frowned, considering the box absentmindedly. "I'm not as shallow as you think I am."

"I would never think anything of the sort," Asahina breathed quietly, gently resting his head against Isaka's shoulder.

Right.

He's the only one who wouldn't.

"And that's exactly why this was always unavoidable," Isaka sighed, gently tracing his fingers through the other's hair, "my parents have been giving me free reign in everything I did so far, and I'm frankly surprised that I haven't been drowned under an avalanche of miai yet, but let's be honest, I'm not getting any younger, and now that I'm president, it's only a matter of time until I'm expected to get hitched."

"That is…" Asahina sighed, slinging an arm around the other's torso. "Yes. Most probably."

"They couldn't be THAT surprised to hear it anyway," Isaka thought aloud. "I mean, it does seem a bit suspicious that I haven't mentioned any girls in over ten years. And that we're practically never apart when they call us. Frankly, I would think less of my old man if he didn't at least suspect it."

Asahina chuckled, slowly untugging the other's shirt. "I will take full responsibility for any and all reactions." His warm hands gently moved up along the skin beneath the fabric, and Isaka shuddered at the touch.

"You… haven't even put the ring on yet…" he forced out between heavy breaths, clinging to Asahina's shoulders tightly.

He could hear a low chuckle next to his ear and the hand withdrew from underneath his shirt.

"Forgive me, sir, it escaped my mind." A second later, Isaka felt the cold metal slide down his finger, and he shuddered at the sensation.

Damn, why did that guy always have to be gentle in the most annoying situations.

"Forget it, just TOUCH ME," Isaka whined, digging his fingers into Asahina's skin. "You do that way too little as it is."

"Because I can never stop."

Asahina leaned forwards, pressing their lips together for a moment before he lifted him up in one swift motion, holding Isaka steady in his arms as he moved towards the bedroom.

"Such a hopeless romantic…" Isaka murmured just loudly enough for the other to hear.

Asahina chuckled lowly, tightening his grip in the process. "Do you object?"

"Hell no."

#

Asahina was already curled tightly around him, snoring softly into his ear, when he was still trying to make sense of what had happened. He had known the guy was prone to unexpected outbursts of romanticism, but really, an ENGAGEMENT RING?

Isaka snorted, admiring the golden band in the moonlight.

It wasn't like he could openly wear it at work without raising questions, but he supposed it would be fine as a necklace. If anyone were to see beneath his shirt, it would be best if they spotted the ring anyway. Sighing wearily, he leaned back against the warmth enclosing him and decided to leave it for another day.

Right now all he wanted to do was drown in the comfortable arms squeezing him tightly and not worry about a thing in the world.

If only it were so simple.

"You're thinking too loudly again."

"Shuddup and go to sleep."

"Mhm…" Asahina yawned, burying his head in the crook of Isaka's neck. "As you wish, Ryuuichirou-sama."

"That is Asahina-sama to you," Isaka said jokingly, finally putting his hands beneath the blanket to stop himself from staring at the ring.

There was a long silence, and eventually he became restless, prompting him to try and turn around to glare at Asahina, but the other held him firmly in place and didn't allow him to move.

"Oi, you're squeezing me to death," Isaka protested, only half-joking.

"Asahina."

"Seriously."

"Let go."

"… No."

Isaka frowned, trying his very best to somehow get a look of the other's face, but it was futile. He settled on snorting angrily while he assumed a pouting position.

"That's no way to treat your boss, y'know."

Asahina hummed, slowly starting to draw circles on Isaka's naked stomach beneath the sheets. "Perhaps. But you are not my boss."

"Oh?" He tried to tone down his reaction and not melt into the touch as much as he could. He would be damned if he let that man win so easily.

"You just said it yourself," Asahina breathed against his ear, "you are my fiancé."

Isaka groaned, trembling when the other's fingers travelled lower as he spoke.

Dirty tricks.

"In that case you better be able to finish what you started," he warned him, linking his fingers with the hand wandering down his body. "I have very high standards."

"Of course… Asahina-sama."

"GOD," Isaka groaned, reaching back to dig his nails into the other's shoulder, "don't say that."

Asahina smiled slightly, nibbling on his earlobe. "Do you insist?"

"I… What— that… I…"

Isaka huffed, turning his head to glare at Asahina to convey his frustration.

"Just shut up and kiss me, you brat."

"As you wish."

He was still annoyed at Asahina in general, but at least for now his thoughts had travelled elsewhere.

That man would always be the most infuriating being on the planet, but from now on he would be HIS most infuriating being on the planet, and that made him smile against the gentle kiss despite himself.

In the end he had gotten what he really wanted, despite not having been aware of it until now.

Then again, Asahina had always had a knack for looking out for him like that.

Bastard. Always knowing everything better.

"Hey, Asahina," he mumbled against his skin, clinging to him tightly, "shouldn't I get you a ring too?"

There was a lengthy silence before Asahina breathed out loudly against his shoulder and said: "That… won't be necessary."

Isaka frowned, eyeing him suspiciously. "Oh? And why is that?"

"Everyone already knows there is no space for anyone in my life but you."

"Hmph." He huffed, hiding his embarrassment behind a frown. "So you're saying there's a risk of me getting sidetracked if you don't mark me?"

"Absolutely not."

"Then why—"

"Because I wanted to." Asahina shrugged, nibbling lightly on his shoulder.

"Well, tough, because I want to too," Isaka growled, finally succeeding in turning around to glare at him fully. "And there's not a damn thing you can do about it."

"I…" Asahina stopped, looking at him blankly. "Very well, sir. If you insist."

"I insist," Isaka said firmly, drawing him into another kiss.

It might have been his imagination, but in the dim moonlight it almost looked like Asahina was blushing.


End file.
